Ancient Near Eastern Art: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v ...

Some of the most elaborate representations
of females in the art of the ancient
Near East are images of divine and cult
figures whose association with certain
aspects of life made them essential to the
welfare of mankind. Fertility, procreation,
the growth of crops and livestock, and
such natural phenomena as thunderstorms
and rain were among the basic
concepts identified with female divinities
by ancient peoples. Representations of
nude females in clay, stone, and metal
are the simplest and most obvious expression
of these concepts, and such figures
appeared throughout antiquity in many
regions and periods. A striking example
in clay from northwestern Iran (fig. 25) is
hollow and probably served as a cult
vessel as well as a sacred image. The
exaggerated width of the pelvis may be
intended to emphasize the role of women
as childbearers.
One of the most important Mesopotamian
goddesses was Ishtar, a divinity
who combined in her nature aspects of
both love and war. She is frequently represented
on cylinder seals (fig. 27) with
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